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"How Long Does Heart Valve Surgery Take?" Asks Shirley

Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Page Last Updated: May 12, 2025

I really appreciate patients that actively prepare their caregivers and their support group for heart surgery.

Earlier today, I opened an email from Shirley that reads, "Adam - At 62, my prolapsed mitral valve is worn out. I'm going in for surgery to replace my mitral valve next week. I want my husband and children to know how long they may be in the waiting room... So, how long does heart valve surgery take usually?"

The really tough part about answering Shirley's question is that there are many variables to each, particular heart valve surgery. For that reason, my standard response to this question is, "It depends."

For example, my double heart valve surgery lasted 3.5 hours from the time I entered the operating room to the time I "checked-in" to the intensive care unit (ICU). Alternatively, I know of several patients that had surgeries well over 10 hours due to heart surgery complications.

That is why I hesitate to give a specific answer to the question, "How Long Does Heart Valve Surgery Take?". However, if I was really pressed to answer this question, I would estimate between 3 and 5 hours.

Furthermore, many of the newer transcatheter valve therapies take much less time as there is no incision to the patient's chest or ribs, the patient does not need to go on the heart-lung machine and the patient may not need general anesthesia. I have heard from physicians that specialize in transcatheter therapies that procedures including transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) may take less than one hour.

Written by Adam Pick - Patient & Website Founder

Adam Pick is a heart valve patient and author of The Patient's Guide To Heart Valve Surgery. In 2006, Adam founded HeartValveSurgery.com to educate and empower patients. This award-winning website has helped over 10 million people fight heart valve disease. Adam has been featured by the American Heart Association and Medical News Today.

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